For Optimists & Skeptics Alike

I have to admit:  I wasn't the huge fan of Elizabeth Gilbert's now famous Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search For Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia that almost every other American woman my age seemed to be.  Yes, I enjoyed the mind's travel; yes, the vicarious romances.  But I always ended up setting the book down because Gilbert's tone seemed to me, well, whiny.  And this is why I avoided, for a long time, her newest book, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage.  But unlike her first best-seller, Committed relays a mature voice that I found myself clinging to. 

Narratively, Committed picks up where Eat, Pray, Love leaves off.  She and Philippe are together, (somewhat) settled, and living in happy agreement that they will never marry, despite their love for one another.  But this all changes when Homeland Security discovers that Philippe has overstayed his welcome in America, and must acquire a permanent visa to reenter.  Of course, the Homeland Security Officer tells them that the only likely way for Philippe to do this is to marry his American born love.  From this beginning, Gilbert takes readers through a story that is part memoir, part history, part anthropological study, and yes, part travel narrative.  She and Philippe continue their travels, not because they want to this time, but because they must.  In the meantime, Gilbert feverishly researches marriage from the culture at large, and delves into an analysis of her own parents' marriage, all while trying to secure a life with Philippe and do the thing that both of them swore they would never do:  marry.  Highly recommended for anyone who's ever married, divorced, or contemplated either. 

Not So Magical

Anyone interested in Puritain-American history, or the Salem Witch Trials, would appreciate Katherine Howe's The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.  In it, PhD student, Connie, is supposed to be working on her dissertation proposal over the summer when her mother asks her to clean up her deceased grandmother's abandoned house.  As she begins, she discovers the name, Deliverance Dane, and a secret key--all of which leads to a book-length investigation in search for the identity of Deliverance Dane, and her so-called "physick book".  Howe moves between past and present:  Connie's present-day search and the historical setting of Salem, Mass during the 17th century.  The latter is most interesting, as we learn a variety of new and insightful details about the Witch-trials.  And while the overall work is entertaining, it possesses too many flaws (flat characters, hokey magic and cliched romance) to be as scary as I had hoped it to be.

Calling All Book Lovers

Did you know that October is National Reading Club Month?  If you're not already part of a Book Club--Oprah's, your local library's or your own--now is never a better time to join.  A reading group is a great way to meet new people, engage in meaningful conversation and enjoy some truly excellent stories.

Julia Hull District Library has several club options for readers, including an Adult Book Club, Short & Sweets (short story discussion group) and Great Reads series.  If you'd prefer to gather with close friends to chat about books of your own choosing, remember that your local library can loan copies of books and book club kits for free to library card holders!

This year's National Reading Club Month's selections  and descriptions may be found at the following link:  http://www.nationalreadinggroupmonth.org/ggr_selections.html .  *Note:  Chris Cleave's Little Bee was Julia Hull Library's Adult Book Club pick for August 2010.
 

More Gladwell

Blink:  The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, an admirable follow-up to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point (see August 24 entry), is an engaging analysis of human cognition.  In Blink, Gladwell presents the idea of "thin-slicers"--that is, individuals who make instantaneous judgments and decisions about other people and situations.  He provides numerous examples to demonstrate how this sort of decision making is often more intuitive and more accurate than that which which has been researched and analyzed.  For example, he presents the story of a fake Kouros (an ancient Greek sculpture) which deceived one team of art experts who'd spent months studying it; or a psychologist who can determine with 95% accuracy whether a married couple will divorce simply by watching an hour-long video of them engaging in conversation.  The engrossing examples go on and on--some of them demonstrating the positive power of thin-slicing, while others demonstrate its potential flaws.  As usual, Gladwell flawlessly connects all of these examples to build a clear argument that's socially and culturally relevant. 

A "Must-Do" Exercise DVD

When I first started this blog, I never considered that I'd make recommendations for workout videos.  But here I go:  if you like a fast-paced, motivating exercise, then you must check-out Jillian Michael's newest DVD:  Shred-It With Weights.  The DVD includes two 30 minute leveled workouts which fly by, despite their difficulty.  As with her other DVDs, Jillian creates routines in circuits that involve weights, cardio and abs.  What's different here is her incorporation of a kettlebell in place of regular hand weights (though you can easily substitute hand weights in place of the kettlebell).  There's a lot of swinging and squatting that also lend to the unique feel of this DVD (and, consequently, the unique pain my thighs felt the morning after my first use of the video!).  If you like to be challenged, this workout's for you.

Tipped On Reading Gladwell

Do you ever feel as though every one you know has read particular book except you?  This is the case for me with Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point:  How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference (2000).  Somehow, Gladwell's book slipped into conversation at various points with several of my friends throughout the past 10 years; but it wasn't until this summer when my pedicurist, of all people, shared her enthusiasm for the book that I felt compelled to pick it up.  I'm so glad I did. 

Gladwell perhaps best describes his book as an "intellectual adventure story" that uses popular examples (Hush Puppy Shoes, Sesame Street, Blue's Clues, Paul Revere, and more) to illustrate how phenomenons "tip" from insignificance to relevance and popularity.  The result is a fascinating thesis, made even better by Gladwell's strong mind and clear writing.  He's a natural at building cases and writing arguments.  Recommended for anyone who's curious about the world around them.  Highly recommended on audio book (well read by the author). 

Shanghai Girls

Anyone whose read (and loved) Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses) or Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth) will fall head over heels for Lisa See's newest novel, Shanghai Girls.  Shanghai girls begins in 1930s China, prior to Japanese invasion.  The story revolves around 2 sisters, Pearl and May, who are oblivious to the many political, social and familial changes that surround them--until they discover their father has gambled away his fortune, and must thus arrange his daughters' marriage to repay his debts.  From this point, Pearl and May's world begins to decay.  Soon after, following the bombing of Shanghai, and their father's disappearance, the story begins a sweeping journey through China en route to America, and the simultaneous horrific and heroic fates these women must endure.  Shanghai Girls is not only beautifully written, but also beautifully designed.  Like Tan, the theme of sisterhood is central to the development of the story, and the implications of being Chinese-American (at the height of the "Red Scare") move the narrative into a fascinating history lesson. 

For Enthusiastic Bakers

I recently checked out a new baking book by John Barricelli entitled, The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook: The Best Sweet & Savory Recipes for Every Occasion.  Martha Stewart fans may recognize Barricelli's name from his contributions to her EveryDay Food Magazine and EveryDay Baking TV series on PBS.

Anyone who follows the EveryDay Food line will know that the recipes are deliberately simple, using (mostly) traditional ingredients, and having consistently good taste.  Recipes in Barricelli's new book are no exception.  The Nectarine-Blueberry Buckle (which I made using fresh, local fruit from the farmer's market) is a perfect summer treat; and Barricelli's recipe for traditional white bread brims with buttery goodness just 15 minutes out of the oven.  (Unlike many store-bought breads, his recipe produces a solid bread, which held up well over a high flame when I used it to make grilled panini.)  Bakers and eaters alike will enjoy sampling from this new collection. 

Confessions

I confess:  growing up I wanted Pa (played by Michael Landon) from Little House On the Prairie to be my dad.  Didn't everyone?  He was hardworking, tender, handsome, honorable, and well-respected.   Moreover, I imagined what it would be like to live in that "little house," in Walnut Grove, attending a one-room schoolhouse.  Looking back, it's a little silly.  But like many viewers, I found myself drawn the wholesomeness of it all.   It's this nostalgia which drew me to read Alison Arngram's new book, Confessions Of A Prairie Bitch:  How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated.  It is, of course, an autobiography:  we learn of Arngram's sexual abuse as a child, and how this spurned her political activism as an adult.  These parts of the book are mildly interesting.  By comparison, what most fans of the show will look for are Arngram's "behind the scenes" stories--how the relationships developed from the Pilot episode; how Laura (played by Melissa Gilbert) and Nellie actually got along, and it was Mary (played by Melissa Anderson) who was a bit of a diva.  Readers will learn things, of course, about the show--but they'll also find themselves taking a bit of a trip down memory lane.  Arngram has a good sense of humor, and tells a good enough of a story.  But like Melissa Gilbert's Prairie Tale: A Memoir (2009), this one's for fans of the show only. 

A Beautiful Equation

Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper & the Professor (otherwise entitled in Japan as The Professor's Beautiful Equation) is an original, simple, lovely story about the relevance of memory and the redefinition of family.  As the title references, the story involves an uneducated single mother who keeps house for a former Professor and math genius whose memory stops in 1975 and whose new memories last an exact 80 minutes.  As one might imagine, this creates for an interesting, if not redundant, relationship between the two.  Each morning when the housekeeper arrives, the two engage in similar, if not identical, conversations and series of events.  And after every 80 minute period of time passes, everything begins anew.  Fortunately, the Professor keeps post-it notes attached to his suit to help act as his memory.  (The housekeeper need only point to the note with her image--a stick figure-like sketch--with the words "the new housekeeper".)  What the title fails to mention is a third, crucial character:  the housekeeper's son, whom the Professor grows to teach and protect and share his love of baseball.  What develops is an ironic relationship between the three:  a family of strangers without the potential to develop their relationship.

Plot-wise, not much happens in The Housekeeper & the Professor, but that doesn't matter:  what's paramount are the characters themselves, whose unusual relationship easily maintains the readers' interest on its own.